Caracas, September 25th, 2007/ The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, confirmed that he will not attend the 62nd UN Annual General Assembly, where he was supposed to give a speech next September 26. He has sent Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Nicolás Maduro in his place.

The Venezuelan president also mentioned that the UN General Assembly is a useful scenario to unmask the Empire’s hostile attitude in its own “lair” and to directly talk to the U.S. people. He pointed out he will closely follow each speech and that he is in constant touch with Venezuela’s representatives in this event.

Solidarity with President Ahmadineyad:

President Chávez also said that he spoke by phone with the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was attacked with insults by the president of Columbia University, which invited him to give a speech to its students.

“I congratulate him, in the name of the Venezuelan people, before a new aggression of the U.S. empire,” Chavez said.

According to the Bolivarian leader, the Iranian president was the object of an ambush. Likewise, he stated that after participating in the UN General Assembly, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Bolivia in order to endorse a set of energy cooperation agreements with his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales, and Venezuela in order to strengthen bilateral relations.